Ranking Top 7 draft busts with the No. 5 pick in lottery era

Draft Bust No. 7: Shelden Williams, 2006

Shelden Williams was a dominant star with the Duke Blue Devils, playing four seasons and being named to All-ACC teams three times. In 2005 he was a third-team All-American, and as a senior he was named a consensus first-team All-American. He was the national Defensive Player of the Year two consecutive years, the kind of feat only all-timers have secured. That led to his selection at No. 5 by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2006 NBA Draft.

If the Hawks were hoping to land a two-way star they were quickly disabused of that notion. Williams averaged just 5.5 points as a rookie for the Hawks…and that would prove to be a career high, as the power forward never established himself as a scoring threat.

He was better defensively, with fast hands and good instincts on rotations, but at 6’9″ he didn’t have enough size to truly play center and his shot-blocking was merely good, not great. Teams don’t invest in players who can’t score and can’t wall off the rim, which left Williams without a path to consistent minutes.

The Hawks traded Williams during his second season, and he began bouncing around the league from there. He played for Sacramento, Boston, Denver, New York and New Jersey before finally calling it quits.

Just Missed: In the picks right after Williams, wing scorers Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay were taken. Roy was a star before his career was cut short by injuries, while Gay carved out a long career. The true star power of the draft came much later, with players such as Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry and Paul Millsap making All-Star teams, but the Hawks didn’t exactly miss on a superstar.

Pistons that Year: In 2006, the Detroit Pistons’ first-round pick (no. 30) had previously been traded, first to Utah and then to Portland. They did keep their second-round pick, taking Will Blalock with the 60th pick; he played 14 games for the Pistons before washing out of the league.